Wednesday, June 19, 2013

I hit the ground running today and haven't let up till now. Please forgive me if I fall asleep mid-blog and this winds up being on Wednesday instead.

1. We continued our Woodlands pool tour today by visiting pool # 3 on our list. I like all the "baby" pools they have and Lincoln likes it too! Although that boy is learning to swim like a champ, he just needs a little more confidence. 11 more pools to go by the end of summer!

2. I have finally joined a YMCA again. There are 3 to choose from here and all are reasonably nearby the closest being 2 miles. Last wednesday I went to a bootcamp class. It was awesome and I left a sweaty mess. I was also rendered unable to walk for the 2 days that followed. I jumped back on the horse on Monday with body pump but I'm still feelin' it.

3. Jackson is attending a VBS this week. I plan to find him a few more. It's only for school aged kids but regardless it's great to split the boys up for a while in the day. They are a TERROR when they are together. Just call me ringmaster! ding, ding, ding

4. I got LOST on the way to the pool today. I might have mentioned we LOVE LOVE this community. It's got everything you could possibly think of BUT it's all hidden behind the woodline. You're driving along and there's not even a sign telling you of all the wonderful things behind the woods. You might know you're close but unless you can GPS it, good luck finding it. And I thought it was hard to learn your way around a military post! I am pretty good with Maps but geeze, that makes it tough. Then while GPSing my way everywhere, I run the battery down on my phone at an absurd hour and also miss out on my "driving phone calls" because if I'm ON the phone, I can't get anywhere! I'm gonna figure this out, just wait and see!

5. In case you were wondering, my blogging snack is an apple dipped in organic natural peanut butter and a little plain greek yogurt. It's delicious and possibly the only thing keeping me awake right now.

6. I have hit the grocery store jackpot. Behind the woodline at the first intersection on our main road there is a Trader Joes!!, a Kroger (signature) and a H-E-B. I couldn't tell you which one I prefer, they are all pretty great in their own rights. I've never had a H-E-B nearby (texas thing) but I can only compare it to Publix meets whole foods/fresh market. They make awesome whole wheat tortillas that I can attest to after today. I would also like to give them a round of applause for choosing locally grown produce and local seafood fresh at the counter. We've had shrimp twice this week to celebrate. If that wasn't enough, they have a "good behavior" system for the kids at the checkout where they are handed "buddy bucks" to place in
a machine and spin a wheels for points to collect and win prizes. I'm just hoping it makes for a more peaceful shopping trip along the way. I think they might be onto something!

7. While most of the time I would consider it "Africa Hot" here with humidity ranging from 1-500%, the local plant life seems to love it and it is reflected in the availability of tropical plants! We went to a nursery and came out with an entire flat buggy of plants then went back for more. Jason and I both love plants (plant hoarders) so we have this place looking nice and cheery, specifically on the outside. Just don't venture upstairs just yet. It's scary, even for me.

8. While perusing H-E-B tonight, I was suckered into buying this.

Don't try to tell me bacon doesn't make everything better. That's like saying things aren't bigger in Texas! Tonight I used it to make broccoli salad. A little greek yogurt and mayo mixed with it and it was divine!

Now I am not a fan of peeling shrimp after i cook them so I did peel them before hand. It was spicy and totally plate licking delicious! My advice is invite some folks over. Make margaritas to go around and serve this shrimp pronto! Now, is anybody free on Saturday night?

10. Last week we went pickin'. This time it was blackberries. It was one of those "Africa Hot afternoons". We didn't last long but we got some big delicious berries and have been eating them ever since. I'm thinking we'll try to go back again before they bloom out. We had never picked blackberries before but for a fleeting moment, it was fun. Mostly hot, but fun.

Bonus: (because I'm actually done before midnight!)
We went to see Man of Steel on Monday (yep, you guessed it. It was HOT outside). I liked the movie, it had a lot of crash, boom, bang type fighting in it but I'd watch it again, to sit for 2 hours in the cool staring at this guy! (No, no, the tall one, but hey, the short one's pretty cute too!)